A cable system (community access television or CATV system) consists of a head end which transmits a plurality of signals with entertainment and informational content simultaneously to customer sites through a tree-like cable plant. Some content signals may be available to all cable customers. Other content signals, such as pay-per-view and premium programs, should only be accessed by sites which have authorized equipment, such as a cable box, and for which appropriate remuneration has been arranged.
Sites exist which posses equipment, often called a "black box", for accessing unauthorized signals. The use of such equipment for accessing unauthorized content signals constitutes fraud, and results in loss of income for CATV system operators.
Traditionally, detecting sites fraudulently accessing CATV content signals has required an eye witness account of the activity. This is usually difficult since someone must be inside the site to view the unauthorized programming.
Current technological solutions to detecting cable access fraud require interrupting the cable system drop before it enters the site, inserting equipment capable of determining to which signal receivers in the site are tuned, recording the information, and interrupting service again to remove the equipment. Several problems arise from this process. First, the cable service must be disconnected just prior to measurement, alerting anyone viewing the unauthorized signal. Second, the manual nature of the process makes it difficult to establish a pattern of fraud at the site.
What is needed is an automated approach to detecting cable fraud. The approach should minimize the number of service interruptions as well as record data over an extended period of time.